Dub Recommendations

King Tubby - Dub Gone Crazy
King Tubby compilations have proliferated wildly over the past five or six
years, but the standard for careful programming, sound quality and
labor-of-love packaging has been set consistently by England’s Blood & Fire
label. This was Blood & Fire’s second release, and it remains a triumph;
the material is taken from B-sides to rare Bunny Lee-produced singles, and
the dub versions were actually created by Tubby and several of his
apprentices. Rhythms courtesy of the mighty Aggrovators, Bunny Lee’s
regular studio band. Essential.
Blood & Fire BAFCD 002

King Tubby & Friends - Dub Explosion
For a more varied overview of the King Tubby oeuvre, check out this generous
collection of tracks based on singles by such legendary artists as Johny
Clarke, Linval Thompson and the exquisite Cornell Campbell. The packaging
isn’t as beautiful and the sound quality not quite as sharp as those on Dub
Gone Crazy, but there’s no disputing the virtues of the material itself. As
with most Trojan compilations, the tracks-per-dollar ratio is quite high.Trojan Records TR366

Sir Coxsone Sound - King of the Dub Rock Parts 1 & 2
Though not a very well-known name in the U.S., Lloyd Coxsone (not to be
confused with legendary producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd) ran a U.K. sound
system that garnered him much fame in that country during the 1970s. During
this period he also began producing, and his dub mixes are among the best to
come out of the U.K. during this era. This disc includes the entirety of
his two "King of the Dub Rock" collections, and includes performances by Sly
& Robbie, Tommy McCook, Ansel Collins and others.
Tribesman TMCD3

Scientist v. Prince Jammy - Big Showdown (1980)
Lloyd “Prince Jammy” James and Hopeton “Scientist” Brown both learned their
dubcraft at the feet of the universally-acknowledged master of the art form,
King Tubby. And frankly, one might be forgiven for thinking that these
alternating tracks (titled only “Round 1,” “Round 2,” etc.) sound pretty
interchangeable in terms of style and approach. But all of them are quietly
brilliant, none of breaking any new ground but all reflecting a complete
mastery of the form. Rhythms are supplied by the unstoppable Roots Radics band.
Greensleeves Records GRELCD 10

Bunny Wailer - Dub D'sco Vols. 1 & 2
The dub mixes on this fine double-length collection were originally released
as two separate LPs in 1978, and were impossible to find in the U.S. until
RAS obtained the rights to the master tapes and released them on a single CD
in 1999. The program contains almost the entirety of both Blackheart Man
and Bunny Wailer Sings the Wailers in dub versions, making it the perfect
companion disc to two of Bunny’s finest solo albums. Bunny himself, always
known for the quality of both his songwriting and singing, proves to be a
surprisingly talented producer and engineer as well.
Solomonic/RAS Records RAS 3239

Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown
Any dub collection should begin with this one, which not only contains what
is widely considered to be the finest single dub mix ever created (the album
’s title track, the dub version of Jacob Miller’s “Baby I Love You So”) but
also demonstrates what magic can occur when a musician of Augustus Pablo’s
mystical vision unites with a producer of King Tubby’s skill. Pablo’s
distinctive “Near East” sound -- the plaintive melodica, the minor keys, the
dreamy tempos -- is in full effect, and Tubby dubs it up with his trademark
creativity. Absolutely essential.
Shanachie Records SH44019

Dub Syndicate - Pounding System
This LP, originally released in the UK in 1982 and later reissued in the US
by ROIR, marked the beginning of one of the most interesting chapters in
reggae history. Producer Adrian Sherwood would later become notorious for
his experimental take on the roots reggae tradition in general and the dub
subgenre in particular, but at this point his vision was still somewhat
conventional, and the instrumental reggae he elicited from this pick-up band
was deep, dark and groovy. Lovers of dub should probably own most of the
Dub Syndicate catalog, but the band’s debut album is a good place to start.
On-U-Sound ONU018

Various Artists - Axion Dub: Mysteries Of Creation
Bassist and producer Bill Laswell has always been a fan of dub, and has been
responsible for creating some pretty impressive examples of the art form
himself through his various studio projects and guest appearances. On this
two-disc set he uses his own Axiom label to showcase 15 examples of dub both
traditional (from Sly & Robbie, Mad Professor and Dub Syndicate) and
experimental (from Scarab, DJ Spooky and The Orb). Consult this one to see
how far the dub influence has spread in electronic music.Island Records PGD531070

Black Roots - Dub Factor 2 - The Dub Jadah Mixes
This fine British roots reggae band had lost a number of its original
members by the time it recorded this set of dubwise selections under the
supervision of producer Dub Judah. (A previous dub collection, this one
produced by Mad Professor, had been released four years earlier.) And Dub
Factor 2 would, in fact, be the band's final studio effort before breaking
up in 1995. But the group still has a strong, rootswise sound on this
album, and the dub mixes are very good. It's an excellent example of the
great roots reggae that was being made in England during the 1990s.
Nubian Records NRCD10

Yabby You Meets Tommy McCook In Dub
Only in reggae music -- and dub, especially -- can “Sound of the 70s” be
taken as an honorific. But the 1970s were indeed the high water mark of
both roots reggae in general and dub in particular, and both Yabby You and
Tommy McCook (charter member of the Skatalites) played significant roles in
the music’s development during that period. These classic dub tracks (all
credited to Yabby You, though he doesn’t sing or seem to play on any of
them; they were engineered and mixed by Errol Thompson and King Tubby,
respectively) find McCook leading an all-star cast of Jamaican studio
musicians through a beautifully contructed set of top-notch instrumentals.
The dub mixes are gentle, leaving most of the instrumental parts intact most
of the time.
Peacemaker Records CD1275

Macro Dub Infection Vol. 1
Dub is no longer just a reggae phenomenon ­ it’s the forefather of remix
culture in general, and its influence can be found just about everywhere in
modern popular music. Witness the artists featured on this two-disc set:
they include the Golden Palominos, avant-junglists Spring Heel Jack,
Wagonchrist, Tortoise and Tricky, among others (as well as such usual
suspects as Mad Professor and Two Badcard). Not everything on this
collection draws explicitly on reggae, and not everything is great, but all
of it is interesting.
Caroline

Burning Spear - Living Dub Vol. 1
Although this sounds very much like a piece of vintage dub, it’s actually a
relatively recent remix of Burning Spear’s classic Marcus Children album,
dubbed-up in 1992 by two guys named Barry O’Hare and Nelson Miller. Burning
Spear’s music, which always seems more like a series of long, seamless
chants than actual songs, is especially well suited to dub treatment, and
two more volumes like this soon followed -- remixes of Social Living and the
much more modern Rasta Business, respectively. All three are very fine, but
this one is the place to start.Heartbeat Records CD HB 131

Lee "Scratch" Perry - Upsetter In Dub
Subtitled “Upsetter Shop Volume 1,” this generous collection of sonic
sculpture from the inimitable Scratch consists mainly of B-sides to Jamaican
singles, and features performances by the Congos, Junior Byles, Max Romeo
and the Albert Griffiths, among others, all of them turned inside-out and
torn to shreds by the Upsetter Himself. Some of these tracks were recorded
at Randy’s, but most of them have that unmistakable Black Ark sound -- a
wet, swampy ambience that causes shivers of delight among fans of outsider
reggae. Perry fans will own this disc already, but it would make an
excellent introduction for anyone who’s heard the stories and is curious.
Heartbeat Records HB077

Capsule reviews written by Rick Anderson, former guitarist and bass player with the almost-legendary
Utah ska band Swim Herschel Swim. He reviews reggae and other musical genres
for the All-Music Guide and the Reno News & Review, among other
publications. He has contributed liner notes to reggae releases on the
Music Club label, and is training his children to recognize the difference
between rockers and one-drop rhythms. He lives in Sparks, Nevada and can be
reached at rickand@unr.edu.